Fifth Circuit Shields Jones Walker in Archdiocese Bankruptcy Suit

Bankruptcy professionals can’t be held liable for carrying out a judge’s instructions to serve a court order, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit concluded.

The appeals court affirmed a Louisiana federal court ruling and held that the underlying claims are core matters that belong in bankruptcy court, a three-judge panel said in a Wednesday decision.

“If Defendants acted at the order of the bankruptcy court and in accordance with that order, they are entitled to derivative judicial immunity,” the panel held.

The dispute stems from the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans, ...